Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Chen Shui-bian parole decision expected today

Taipei Times

The fate of jailed former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) request for medical parole is to be decided by noon today, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said yesterday.

Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) pledged that the decision would be made public at about noon on the first workday of the year — after a 10-member assessment team headed by Agency of Corrections Director Wu Sen-chang (吳憲璋) reaches its final determination.

Former US Senate leader Dole calls for pressure on Obama to support Taiwan

Taipei Times

Former US Senate majority leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole has urged the US Congress to increase pressure on the White House to help Taiwan build its own submarines.

US President Barack Obama should reinvigorate his “pivot to Asia” and at the same time “accommodate the security needs of Taiwan, our nation’s friend and ally,” Dole said in an article published by the Washington Times.

Sunflowers boosted the economy

Huang Tien-lin 黃天麟

On Dec. 18 last year, the Asian Development Bank estimated Taiwan’s GDP growth rate for last year at 3.6 percent, 0.14 percent higher than the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research’s October estimate of 3.46 percent. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ (DGBAS) figure, to be released soon, is likely to fall somewhere between these two.

Most notable last year was that growth forecasts from a range of organizations continued to rise following the Sunflower movement in March and April. Had it not been for food safety scandals associated with the Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團), the economic performance would likely have been even better.

Taiwan must resume localization

Lee Min-yung 李敏勇

The period from former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) administration from 1988 to 2000 through former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) two terms from 2000 to 2008 and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) rule since 2008 has reflected political development in the post-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) era: The shaky path toward development amid the struggle between Taiwanese localization and Chinese colonialism.

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